Reuters, Caracas/Moscow :
Venezuela’s socialist leader Nicolas Maduro accused U.S. President Donald Trump of ordering his assassination while his main global backer Russia called on Wednesday for mediation in a standoff deepening geopolitical splits.
The fight to control Venezuela, which has the world’s largest oil reserves, has intensified with new U.S. sanctions and legal moves that may bring the arrest of opposition leader and self-declared interim president Juan Guaido.
In an interview with Moscow’s RIA news agency, Maduro, 56, facing the biggest challenge to his rule since replacing Hugo Chavez six years ago, said Trump had ordered neighboring Colombia to murder him.
“Donald Trump has without doubt given an order to kill me and has told the government of Colombia and the Colombian mafia to kill me,” Maduro said, reprising a constant accusation of his and Chavez’s over the years.
Bogota and Washington have routinely denied that, while foes say Maduro uses such accusations as a smokescreen when in trouble.
However, speculation of military action against him was fueled this week when Trump adviser John Bolton carried a notepad with the words “5,000 troops to Colombia”.
In an early morning tweet, Trump warned U.S. citizens against traveling to Venezuela, given the unrest.
Russia, which like China has loaned and invested billions of dollars in OPEC member Venezuela, called on Guaido to drop
his demand for a snap election and instead accept mediation.
However, given the failure of previous rounds of dialogue, including one led by the Vatican, opponents are suspicious, believing Maduro uses them to quell protests and buy time.
Venezuela’s Supreme Court has imposed a travel ban on Guaido and frozen his bank accounts in apparent retaliation for oil sanctions imposed by the United States that are expected to severely hit an already collapsing economy.
The United States is Venezuela’s largest crude importer, ahead of India and China, but the new measures limit transactions between U.S. companies and state oil company PDVSA.
Oil prices held steady on Wednesday, as Venezuela supply concerns were offset by the bleak global economic outlook. PDVSA bonds could be excluded from key indexes, also impacting sovereign paper, Bank of America Merill Lynch (BAML) said.
Guaido, the eldest of six children from a working-class family who emerged from virtual anonymity as a political activist, is recognized as president by the United States and most Western Hemisphere nations.
Venezuela’s socialist leader Nicolas Maduro accused U.S. President Donald Trump of ordering his assassination while his main global backer Russia called on Wednesday for mediation in a standoff deepening geopolitical splits.
The fight to control Venezuela, which has the world’s largest oil reserves, has intensified with new U.S. sanctions and legal moves that may bring the arrest of opposition leader and self-declared interim president Juan Guaido.
In an interview with Moscow’s RIA news agency, Maduro, 56, facing the biggest challenge to his rule since replacing Hugo Chavez six years ago, said Trump had ordered neighboring Colombia to murder him.
“Donald Trump has without doubt given an order to kill me and has told the government of Colombia and the Colombian mafia to kill me,” Maduro said, reprising a constant accusation of his and Chavez’s over the years.
Bogota and Washington have routinely denied that, while foes say Maduro uses such accusations as a smokescreen when in trouble.
However, speculation of military action against him was fueled this week when Trump adviser John Bolton carried a notepad with the words “5,000 troops to Colombia”.
In an early morning tweet, Trump warned U.S. citizens against traveling to Venezuela, given the unrest.
Russia, which like China has loaned and invested billions of dollars in OPEC member Venezuela, called on Guaido to drop
his demand for a snap election and instead accept mediation.
However, given the failure of previous rounds of dialogue, including one led by the Vatican, opponents are suspicious, believing Maduro uses them to quell protests and buy time.
Venezuela’s Supreme Court has imposed a travel ban on Guaido and frozen his bank accounts in apparent retaliation for oil sanctions imposed by the United States that are expected to severely hit an already collapsing economy.
The United States is Venezuela’s largest crude importer, ahead of India and China, but the new measures limit transactions between U.S. companies and state oil company PDVSA.
Oil prices held steady on Wednesday, as Venezuela supply concerns were offset by the bleak global economic outlook. PDVSA bonds could be excluded from key indexes, also impacting sovereign paper, Bank of America Merill Lynch (BAML) said.
Guaido, the eldest of six children from a working-class family who emerged from virtual anonymity as a political activist, is recognized as president by the United States and most Western Hemisphere nations.
